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What is Knowledge?


Kinds of Knowledge

if we consider different ways of using the verb “to know”, we can distinguish:

  1. knowledge that … [+ a proposition/statement expressed in a sentence]
    = 'propositional knowledge'
    including:
    • “I know when the sun rises” ← “I know that the sun rises at 5.58”
    • “I know where Nairobi is” ← “I know that Nairobi is in Kenya”

  2. knowledge how to … [+ a skill/activity expressed by a verb]

  3. knowledge … [+ an object/place/person represented by a noun]
    = 'knowledge by acquaintance'

cf. in French: savoir v. connaitre, or in German: wissen v. kennen

BUT the different kinds of knowledge are not completely separate:

  • “I know how to ride a bike” ⇒ “I know that one puts the feet on the pedals” etc.
  • “I know John” (or similarly: “I know Kigali”)
    ⇒ “I know that John is a boy”
    ⇒ “I know how to make him laugh”
    etc. (– need enough information to uniquely identify him, but what that is depends)

in different areas, such as History, Science, …, even Ethics:

  • “I know that …”:
    “… WW2 ended in 1945”, “… sodium is a metal”,
  • “I know how to …”:
    “… analyse original sources”, “… use atomic numbers to place elements in the periodic table”,
  • in the course of our education, we move from the former to the latter.

Kinds of Knowers

the knower's perspective:
just as what I perceive depends on where I stand,
the knowledge I can have depends on who I am, my past experiences, etc. – e.g.

  • in science: different scientists can have different theories,
  • in history: bias may be unavoidable.

distinguish

  • personal knowledge,
    based on a person's own experience – e.g.
    • much of knowledge how to … is personal knowledge;
    • what I see, what I remember, what I feel.
  • shared knowledge,
    publication + acceptance by others:
    BUT what that acceptance is based on depends on the area of knowledge – e.g.
    • in science:
      experiments must be repeatable, by others, in other places,
    • in history:
      new evidence must be credible, a new 'story'/account must make sense of the evidence.

A Definition

The Eastern Conception of Knowledge

definition.txt · Last modified: 2014/10/14 06:55 by kai